Letters to the editor for July 22, 2013

There have been a couple of recent articles bemoaning the state of affairs in the downtown Courthouse Square. Homeless hanging around, parolees charging their monitoring devices, drug users, and other people obviously in need.

There were some great reasons for the presence of these elements — including public transportation, regular meals by charitable organizations, and power outlets for ankle chargers. Officials are now looking at the situation.

This is what it looks like when over 90 percent of the money is concentrated in the hands of 1 percent of the people. There ends up being less than 10 percent of the wealth left to divide between the other 99 percent of the population. Do the math — there is simply not enough to go around. There are an increasing number of economic down-and-outs. Can anyone recall when there have been over 500 homeless people living in this county? This is what austerity looks like.

This is what it looks like when a state builds 22 new prisons and only one new university in the past 20 years. When the path through school quite likely does not lead to a good job, but almost certainly results in years of high interest debt indenturedness.

This is what it looks like when politicians are more preoccupied with forcing their dogma on the country than solving the real problem we face. When Congressmen are willing to run the economy over a fiscal cliff to get their way. When our elections look more like multi-million dollar auctions and big monied lobbies determine the laws.

The reality caused by dysfunctional government and a broken economy has now grown to the point that we can all see what it looks like.